Francesca Hong’s defeat was a setback for the Left. But lost in discussions of the campaign’s shortcomings is how much she actually accomplished. Hong may have opened the door to a new era of politics for Wisconsin and the Left more broadly.
When Elites Scheme Behind Closed Doors
The history of the Veiled Prophet Society, the St Louis secret society whose origins are in white supremacy and the suppression of worker organizing, is a window onto elite capitalist society and how it operates to protect its own interests.
Five Takeaways From Francesca Hong’s Near-Win in Wisconsin
Francesca Hong’s campaign both showed the potential that exists for the socialist left in purple states and what the Left needs to do to reach it.
The Human Cost of Google’s AI Expansion
Google’s $15 billion AI data center in southern India is being hailed as triumph for India’s technological development. For the local Dalit farmers losing their land for the project, it is raising fears about the future of the region’s land and water.
John Deere Is Testing Its Workers’ Resolve
The union contract for 10,000 UAW workers at John Deere’s Midwestern plants is set to expire fall 2027. The agricultural machinery maker is asking them to extend that contract by two years, probing whether workers are willing to fight for a better deal.
American Freedom Was Built on Endless Conquest
The Founders made expansion the precondition of American freedom. We must find an alternative.
Jonathan Chait’s Atlantic essay claims the Democratic Socialists of America has betrayed the legacy of its founder, Michael Harrington. It gets DSA’s history, and what the organization is today, wrong.
Russia’s Authoritarian Neoliberalism Reaches Its Limits
Ukrainian attacks on fuel infrastructure and on online retailer Wildberries are disrupting middle-class Russians’ sense of normality. Moves to step up military conscription could push the system toward a breaking point.
The Left and Right Share a Moral Theory of Exploitation
A new study finds that people across the political spectrum share a remarkably similar understanding of exploitation: the unjust use of power to secure unequal outcomes.
The Union Deal That’s Undermining Gig Workers
Drivers for companies like Uber and Lyft are wildly exploited, largely because they’re misclassified as independent contractors. Recent union deals to protect those drivers leave them as independent contractors — just the way the rideshare bosses want it.
How Argentina Banned Its Opposition
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has been imprisoned and barred from public office for life. As Argentina heads toward its 2027 elections, her case shows what democratic erosion looks like when it comes in judicial robes.
Mainstream economics cannot accept the concept of contradiction that is foundational for Karl Marx’s analysis of capitalism. David Harvey explains why we need the Marxist perspective if we want to make sense of capital’s latest mutations in the age of AI.
Capitalism Is Killing an American Cinema Renaissance
The Odyssey’s runaway success should green light more 70mm IMAX screens. But deindustrialization killed the skilled trades that built the projectors and the union jobs that ran them — so instead we’ll get resale markets and paywalled seats.
Centrists Are Still Defending California Billionaires
California Democrats just defied Gavin Newsom to endorse a billionaire wealth tax. The fight previews a national battle in which centrists push “pragmatic” alternatives that would barely make a dent in ultra-elites’ wealth or power.
Why the Gig Economy Won’t Call Workers Employees
The gig economy promised flexibility, but it also fudged one simple question: Who counts as an employee? This legal ambiguity undermines the rights of not just Amazon and Uber workers but the whole labor force.
Mahmoud Khalil Is Suing the Trump Administration
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was detained and threatened with deportation by the Trump administration for protesting Israel’s genocide. He spoke to Jacobin about why he is now suing the administration.